Jamaica Savings Bank (Sutphin Boulevard branch)
146-19 Jamaica Avenue | also 90-32 Sutphin Boulevard | Jamaica | built 1939
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The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.
Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.
- 1934
Jamaica Savings Bank buys the corner of Jamaica Avenue and Sutphin Boulevard
Expecting downtown Jamaica to grow with the new courthouse on Sutphin Boulevard and the Eighth Avenue subway extension, the bank bought this corner lot, with an existing building on it, for a branch in 1934. That older building stayed until 1938, when bank president George S. Downing announced its demolition, saying it no longer served depositors adequately.
- 1938
Bank architect Morrell Smith is hired to design the Sutphin Boulevard branch
Smith, born in Springfield, Queens, in 1876, opened his first office in Far Rockaway in 1896 and from 1920 designed branch offices for the Bank of Manhattan. His award-winning Queens Plaza building in Long Island City was the tallest in Queens when finished, and he had earlier designed an addition to Jamaica Savings Bank's headquarters. The bank commissioned him for this branch in early 1938.
“In early 1938 Smith was commissioned to design the new bank branch on Jamaica Avenue and Sutphin Boulevard, which received an award for design innovation.”
- 1938
Bank president George Downing announces construction of the new branch
Downing said work had begun and the building should be done by February 1, 1939. He tied the decision to Jamaica's rapid growth, crediting the Eighth Avenue subway's extension to Jamaica with a surge in apartment building nearby. Theodore L. Rubsamen and Company of Jamaica served as builder and general contractor.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1939
The Sutphin Boulevard branch of Jamaica Savings Bank opens
The new branch opened behind ornamental cast bronze doors leading to a semicircular vestibule lined with black and gold marble, with American walnut furnishings and bronze light fixtures inside. Its most notable decoration is an American eagle carved in low relief above the entrance.
“The Sutphin Boulevard Branch of the Jamaica Savings Bank officially opened on April 22, 1939…”
Source: Wikipedia
- 1939
Morrell Smith wraps the branch in limestone, with an eagle and custom air conditioning
The one-story Moderne building sits on a trapezoidal lot and faces the intersection with an angled corner entrance. Indiana limestone covers it above a polished granite base, with tall windows topped by star-patterned panels and a stylized Greek entablature. Smith also gave it an up-to-date air conditioning system made specifically for this building and newly introduced sound-absorbing materials.
“It is clad in Indiana limestone with a polished granite base.”
- 1939
The Queens Chamber of Commerce gives the new branch a first prize for design
The Chamber of Commerce of the Borough of Queens named the bank one of seven winners of its annual architecture award for commercial buildings, citing excellence of design and construction. The building drew attention in local and national press for its modern equipment.
“In 1939, the Chamber of Commerce of the Borough of Queens awarded the ba nk "First Prize for Excellence of Design and Construction.”
- 2008
Capital One takes over the branch after buying North Fork Bank
Jamaica Savings Bank's long run ended in 1999, when North Fork Bank acquired it. Capital One bought North Fork in 2008, and the Sutphin Boulevard building became a Capital One branch.
“…the bank was acquired by North Fork Bank in 1999, which itself was acquired by Capital One Bank in 2008.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 2010
The branch becomes a city landmark despite objections from its owner
At a February 2010 hearing, four people spoke for designation, including representatives of the Historic Districts Council and the Queens Preservation Council, while two representatives of the owner spoke against it. Borough President Helen Marshall and the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation sent letters of support.
“Two representatives of the owner spoke in opposition to designation.”
- 2011
Capital One removes the bank's mural of 19th-century Fulton Street
The banking hall's western wall held a 16-by-25-foot mural of Fulton Street in the 1800s, showing a stagecoach on a wide road. Capital One, which by then ran the building as one of its branches, took the painting down in 2011, a year after the city made the building a landmark.
“The interior western wall featured a 16'x25' mural of 19th century Fulton Street with a stagecoach and wide street that was removed by Capital One Bank in 2011.”
Source: Wikipedia
Further reading
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